Nooitgedacht phase three being connected
Nooitgedacht phase three being connected
Nooitgedacht phase three being connected up Key step under way to integrate long-awaited project to expand water treatment works at Sunland, bringing drought-stricken Bay an extra 30ML By Guy Rogers - 29 March 2022 LONG TIME COMING: A photograph taken in mid-2020 of the phase three project to double the treatment capacity of the Nooitgedacht plant. The project is now complete and is being connected to the Bay's existing water supply system Image: EUGENE COETZEE: A contracted engineering team has begun the process of bringing online the long-awaited and now completed Nooitgedacht phase three expansion project, which will boost Nelson Mandela Bay’s water supply by 30 megalitres a day.
The key integration step is being done by the team contracted by the department of water and sanitation, together with the Bay’s water experts. Metro engineering and infrastructure executive director Joseph Tsatsire said the process began at 4am on Tuesday. “We have allowed for 24 hours to finish but are working around the clock in the hope that we can finish quicker.” He said once the project to expand the Nooitgedacht Waste Water Treatment Works at Sunland was fully integrated, the Bay would be able to boost its extraction from the Orange-Fish Transfer Scheme from the current 180 megalitres (ML) a day to 210ML a day.
The metro was until February putting 140ML a day through Nooitgedacht and 40ML a day through the temporary Grassridge treatment plant. When contamination was picked up in the Bay water system, it was traced to Grassridge, which was struggling to treat the poor incoming water from the transfer scheme because of the link with the polluted Fish River, which has since 2019 been inundated with sewage spills from mismanaged Karoo municipalities. Grassridge was consequently taken offline, restricting the Bay’s already drought-curtailed supply even further. Tsatsire said on Tuesday the temporary treatment works had been brought back online a week ago. “We are slowly increasing the volumes we put through it and today we’re putting through 20ML a day. “But once Nooitgedacht phase three has been fully integrated, allowing us to put our maximum quota of 210ML a day through that system, we will decommission Grassridge. “So the maximum water nett gain we’re looking at is 30ML a day.” Nooitgedacht phase three was launched in 2017 with a budget of R318m from the department of water and sanitation. It was delayed several times thereafter due to funding disputes between the department, implementing agent Amatola Water and contractor Stefanutti Stocks. Tsatsire said water outages being experienced by Lorraine and other western suburbs this week were likely linked to the incident at Nooitgedacht on Friday when the electricity tripped.
The level in the Chelsea Reservoir consequently plunged and it was still low. The metro also on Monday warned residents that, to allow for the phase three connection to take place, the Nooitgedacht supply system would have to be shut down completely. “While we have made every effort to ensure water is maintained in the majority of areas, we anticipate that some may experience water outages during this time.” Affected areas may include Rowallan Park, Francis Evatt Park, Hunters Retreat, Bay West, Parsonsvlei/Westbrook, Morningside, Kabega Park, Sherwood, Westering, Cotswold, Helenvale, Malabar, parts of Schauderville, Framesby, Sunridge Park, parts of Lorraine, parts of Theescombe, Kamma Park, Motherwell, Colchester, the Coega Industrial Development Zone, the northern areas and Kariega.
